Secret Service technology failures exposed in Trump assassination attempt
2 August 2024 08:11
The newspaper "The New York Times" reports that Secret Service technology failed during the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The journalists provide several details on this matter.
According to the "NYT" account, the first person to notice the assassin on the roof of a building near the Trump speech venue in Bethel Park, near Pittsburgh, was a local police officer. His information was not relayed to Secret Service agents due to a lack of communication system integration.
The report also highlighted errors in the use of the equipment available by the Secret Service. During a Senate hearing, Ronald Rowe Jr., the agency's acting director, admitted that the technological capabilities available were not fully utilised to identify the attacker early.
The newspaper emphasises multiple oversights in the services' actions, including the failure to use drones to monitor the area and improperly using existing devices.
Does the Secret Service lack resources?
One reason for these oversights might be a lack of investment in new technological solutions. According to the Secret Service budget reports, the agency spends only one per cent of its funds on them, which is £3.2 million annually. Additionally, the newspaper noted that the agency management urged the U.S. Congress to reduce this amount to £1.8 million this year.
"NYT" criticises the Secret Service for their outdated technology and insufficient investments in new solutions, which allowed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, armed with a long gun, to gain a technological advantage over an agency with a budget of around £2.4 billion.
On 13 July, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, became the target of a failed assassination attempt carried out by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who shot at him from a distance of 137 metres during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The young assassin wounded two people and killed one.
